Rove: Bachmann Migraines Her 'First Big Challenge'

Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann parried questions for a second day about her migraine headaches, saying, “I feel great and so we’ve answered that.”

She also told reporters in Norwalk, Iowa, that she keeps “a very vigorous schedule” when asked about whether her condition would hamper her performance should she win the White House.

Karl Rove, the former top strategist to President George W. Bush, said on Fox News today that he thinks Bachmann will need to release her medical records, calling the story the “first big challenge” the Minnesota congresswoman’s presidential campaign has faced.

“It’s going to be important for her to get her doctors out there quickly to provide medical records and to provide the reassurance that people are going to want to have that this is not a serious issue,” he said.

Alice Stewart, a Bachmann spokeswoman, didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on whether the campaign plans to release such records.

Bachmann’s migraines and use of medications to deal with them were reported initially yesterday by the Daily Caller website. Its story said the condition has led to at least three hospital stays for her, a question Bachmann didn’t address in her remarks today or a statement she released yesterday.

Bachmann, 55, said in the statement that, although she experiences migraines, they are under control with medication.

“My ability to function effectively has never been impeded by migraines and will not affect my ability to serve as commander in chief,” she said in the statement.

A story about her health appeared on the front page of today’s Des Moines Register, the largest newspaper in Iowa, the state that hosts the first nomination contest in next year’s Republican presidential race.

Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann parried questions for a second day about her migraine headaches, saying, I feel great and so we ve answered that. She also told reporters in Norwalk, Iowa, that she keeps a very vigorous schedule when asked about whether...